Exodus
by Arctic Banana
Summary: 7 doesn't want to leave her friends, but at the same time she can't stand to hide from the Cat Beast forever. She makes the tough decision to take as many of the others as she can and leave before 1's ways start to hinder her chance to fight back for her freedom.


_Holy crap, first fanfiction in forever that's not based on a video game!_

* * *

The church was supposed to be a safe haven, safe from the harsh weather outside, safe from the dreaded Cat Beast, and safe from anything and everything that might seek to harm them. That was what 1 had told them repeatedly, using "evidence" of its safety like the fact that they just had the luck that the Beast hadn't found them yet to prove it. 7 didn't buy into that at all, and even if it was safe, she didn't want to waste her entire life living in fear and hiding from the metal demon that was lurking in the wasteland, stalking them relentlessly. Sometimes she could see it from the windows creeping around outside. She was convinced that it was starting to catch on to where they were. Why else did it keep coming back to the very church where they were all hiding? It was only a matter of time before the Beast found out how to get in and their "safe haven" became a deathtrap.

1 wouldn't listen to reason and dismissed her concerns as paranoia. "And what do you propose we do?" he asked when she pressed the issue again. "Uproot everything we've built here and move elsewhere yet again because you merely _think _the Beast is going to get inside?"

"We don't necessarily have to leave," she countered. "Just fight back! The only way to make this thing leave us alone is to show it that we're not afraid of it and we're prepared to defend ourselves to the end!"

"And to the end you shall if you're foolish enough to think you can stop it by yourself!" 1 grew weary with her constant pressuring of him to fight the Cat Beast. He really wished she'd just accept that there was nothing they could do about the creature and drop it. "We've had this conversation already and my response still stands. Please remove her from my presence," he requested.

"I can remove myself," 7 said icily when 8 reached out to grab her and drag her away. She stormed off past 6, who was oblivious to the argument taking place behind him, and climbed up onto a window so she could look out for any signs of the Beast's return.

It was clear that 1 would not listen to reason. He was convinced that what he was doing was the right thing because it was keeping everyone alive, but what use was being alive if it meant you couldn't live? She wanted to be free of the fear that the Cat Beast brought and didn't want to spend every moment of her existence wondering if today was the day it would break in and massacre them all. This freedom from fear was not something that she'd ever get to experience if 1 had his way, which is why she also considered the alternative. She had to leave.

She'd rather not have to do so. Her entire family was here and they were the only beings she'd ever known and trusted. She could probably bring a few of them along with her, but she knew leaving meant saying goodbye to many of them. Not to mention 1 was right about one thing, namely that the church was safe, at least it was for now. There was no telling when the machine outside would find its way in, but for the time being it was still unsure whether or not they were even inside the building as they had covered their tracks well. If she left, she'd be exposed and shelterless, which made her an even easier target for the Cat Beast.

She sighed deeply as she'd had this debate many times with herself in the past. Always she came to the conclusion that it was better to face her fears and leave, but she never made a move to do so. She didn't know why. It wasn't her fear that was keeping her in place. As scared as she was she knew she'd have to be brave and overcome such fear if she was to survive, after all. It was more that she was holding onto a false hope that she could convince 1 to change his mind so she could maybe save them all. She knew his opinion had already been decided long ago and yet she clung to the hope that she could force a change if she just kept at it. Today she decided she wanted to do things differently. When she said she was leaving, she was actually going to leave this time, and she'd be damned if she was going alone.

7 thought about who she might like to take with her. 8 was not an option. He wouldn't go anywhere without 1 and even if he did agree to leave, however unlikely that option was, 7 wasn't so sure she even wanted him to come along with her. She didn't hate him as she couldn't find it within herself to hate any of her brethren (though 1 was seriously pushing her to her limits), but she did like him a lot less than the others. 2 and 5 wouldn't leave either, as they'd rather stay here where they thought it was safe and follow 1's orders. It was a shame. She'd certainly miss the both of them and would have loved to take them with her. She wanted 6 to come if she could get to him, but he always seemed to be around 1, or 1 was always around 6 at any rate, leaving her no option to talk to him. She made a mental note to look out for any chance that she could find to get him alone so she could try to convince him to escape 1's prison. There were only two more options to go with to ensure that she wasn't alone, and she knew for a fact that she was not leaving at all without either of them. She could never abandon 3 and 4 to stay here without her.

5 smiled at her when he saw her walk past, blissfully unaware of the fact that she was soon going to make a run for it. She smiled back to throw off any suspicion that something might be wrong, but inside she felt bad that she couldn't just come out and tell him. She didn't think he'd run off and tell 1 of what she planned on doing, but she didn't want to have to deal with him trying to talk her out of leaving either. It would be the last thing she needed right now to feel even more guilt about leaving her friends.

She found 3 and 4 hiding underneath some discarded newspapers that had blown in from outside, both of them staring with interest at one of the pages. They had already cataloged every page that was salvageable and had since run out of material to look at, but that didn't stop them from reading and rereading them all over again with just as much interest as they'd expressed the first time they'd seen them. They were especially intrigued by the Sunday comics section. 7 recalled a day where they ran around showing their favorites to everyone who would be kind enough to give them attention like it was the greatest thing they'd ever seen in their lives. It probably was the greatest thing they'd ever seen in their lives. It wasn't like 1 let them do much around here.

"Hey you two," 7 said when she was standing just a few inches away from them. "Did you read anything good lately?" She knew it was all just the same old stuff from the last time she'd asked that, but they both just got so happy whenever someone asked them to share their knowledge that she liked to ask anyway.

Sure enough, 3 and 4 both smiled at her and hopped up from the floor, grabbing her by the hands and showing her the article that they had been reading about a poodle that had rescued a drowning kitten from a river. It seemed out of place amongst the many horror stories and apocalyptic nightmares scrawled across the pages of news detailing the War, but at the same time it was a breath of fresh air from the horror. That was probably why the story had been run in the first place. The tale took a darker turn when one stopped to realize that certainly neither the poodle nor the kitten had survived the War, but none of them wanted to think about that, not now nor ever.

7 casually glanced around to see if anyone else was within earshot. They appeared to be alone. She could see 5 a little ways off collecting some bits of broken glass from the floor. She didn't know what he and 2 planned on making with them and felt a little bit saddened that she probably would never get to find out. She ushered 3 and 4 back under the newspapers and sat down with them to make it look like they were all invested in the newspaper, just in case 8 or somebody happened to come by.

"Listen closely, both of you," she whispered. They both looked up from the weathered pages and sat attentively. "I'm not staying here for much longer." They both looked at each other, their eyes flashing as they communicated in a manner that she still did not quite fully understand before they looked back at her and became attentive once more. There was now concern in their expressions as they had likely bought into 1's scare tactics and considered venturing outside to be a death sentence. She continued. "I want the both of you to come with me." She paused and waited as they once again exploded into chatter with each other, likely debating what she had just said to them. 3 and 4 looked at her with even more worry than before. "It's going to be okay. We can make it," she reassured them. "1 isn't right about everything, you know. As long as we all stick together, we'll be okay."

3 and 4 silently stared at each other. Their eyes never flickered, though 7 was sure they were still communicating with each other in a way. They looked back at her and glanced up at 5, who was examining a rather sharp looking glass shard, and also curiously looked at 2 who had just showed up to help him. They looked back at her and nodded towards them, no doubt wondering if she would take them along too.

"I'd like to take 6 with us if I can find a moment alone to talk to him, but for the most part we'll be on our own," 7 said sadly. They both looked forlorn at her statement. "But hey, I'm still holding out that someday we'll be able to convince them to come with us. I haven't given up on them completely," she said, hoping that would be a little more reassuring to them. They both smiled weakly. "Are you both in?" she asked. The twins both looked at each other and immediately snapped into discussion.

She didn't want to reveal that whether or not she left herself was hinged on their decision as she could not bear to leave 3 and 4 behind. The others she could live without, even if it pained her, but their company had something to it that the others didn't. She had a strong protective instinct towards them both and she wouldn't be able to function on her own not knowing how they were doing in 1's control, whether or not he was keeping them safe as promised, or if the Cat Beast had found them and killed them while she wasn't there to protect them.

3 and 4 finished their brief discussion with each other and turned and nodded. They were in. 7 smiled warmly just moments before the two of them jumped on her for a hug. She should have known they'd say yes. Scare tactics or not, they trusted her judgment. Once they'd pulled away, she looked at them both seriously. "Whether or not I can convince 6 to come with us, we leave tonight, just as soon as it gets dark," she stated. "If you have anything you want to take with you, make sure to have it ready by then. We'll meet at the big crack in the wall. And don't tell anyone else about this, understood?"

She might as well have been telling 5 to stop jumping all over people and grabbing them when he got scared, but she needed to make sure they were on the same page either way. They both nodded and scurried off under their mounds of yellowing newspaper. She didn't know if they actually had anything that was worth bringing since they had a photographic memory of anything that was worth anything to them, but she didn't want to leave anything behind that might be of any form of value to them.

She stood up and left them to their devices, whatever they may be. She had one last task, and that was to find a chance to convince 6 to come along. She felt rather bad for him and didn't want to leave him behind either. 8 would probably torment him and while she wasn't sure he realized it, 1 was pretty much keeping him a prisoner, even moreso than the others. That was part of the reason why he was almost always in 1's sight. He seemed to be paranoid that his insanity would somehow bring their downfall if he wasn't closely monitored. 7 thought he was harmless, though a little bit obsessive with his constantly scribbling the same thing on every scrap of paper he could get his hands on. She would have liked to get the twins to look at and study his drawings and see if the pair of them could make sense of them, but 1 seemed intent on keeping them away for whatever reason. Even he couldn't deny that they must have had some manner of significance, given 6's obsessiveness over drawing it and the fact that it was a pattern that seemed so familiar and yet at the same time so alien to them all, and he was worried that whatever it was might put the rest of them in danger if they found out.

As usual, she found 6 right where she'd left him, scribbling away on the inside of a gum wrapper that he had found earlier. He didn't seem to notice her approaching and paid her no attention, even as she stood over him and watched him scribbling away. She looked to the wall where there were several other scraps with the same symbols all over it plastered everywhere. There were less there than there were when she'd been here earlier. It appeared that 1 had confiscated many of them for further study and he was hard at work replacing those that were missing. 6 looked back at his gum wrapper and tacked it on the wall with the others once he was satisfied that it was complete.

"That's quite a collection you've got going there," 7 said, despite the fact that it was much smaller than before. She looked around to see if anyone was nearby and was surprised that 1 and 8 weren't still around. "Are you alone?" she asked. Just because she didn't see them didn't necessarily mean they weren't there. 8 was pretty stealthy for a big guy with a low IQ and 1 always seemed to be everywhere when you least wanted him to be.

"You're here," 6 pointed out. He started digging around through the garbage that was scattered about him until he found another strip of paper. There were still some words on it, though it wasn't enough to make the scrap worthless for his purpose and he immediately went to scribbling all over it.

7 laughed at his response. "I mean is there anyone around besides me?"

6 paused a moment and looked from left to right. "8 was here a moment ago..." he said. "Don't know where he went." He went back to scrawling on the page before him.

7 pulled up a makeshift chair that was actually a block of dry wood that had broken off a fallen tree outside and blown in with the wind. "So there's no one else around but us?"

6 seemed to realize that something was up. He was surprisingly intuitive and could often tell what you were getting at before you even began. "Something wrong?" he asked.

7 looked over her shoulder and then scouted the area around her. Satisfied that the area seemed secure but still cautious that anyone could be listening in on them without them realizing it, she replied in a low whisper, "I'm going to leave tonight, and I want you to come with me."

6 looked downright shocked at her request. He probably never even thought about leaving the church before now. "What?" he asked. "Why?"

She got off the wood block and crouched down beside him, whispering in a lower voice, "We can't stay here forever, 6. I think even you know it."

He looked at his drawing in front of him. "We'll go back," he said. "Back to the source?"

She stared at him blankly. 6 was always saying that and she had no idea what it meant. It was just as cryptic as his scribbles. "Whatever that means, I'm sure we can do just that," she nodded. "But first we have to leave here!"

"Leave? Who's leaving?" 7 jumped in fear when she heard a voice behind her. To her relief it was only 2 and 5, but she had been hoping that nobody would overhear this conversation, even them.

Without giving her a chance to stop him, 6 quite readily replied, "7." He immediately seemed to regret the response when he saw the look of horror on 7's face and realized that it was supposed to have been a secret. Like the twins before him, he had assumed that she'd ask them to join her too.

Both 2 and 5 seemed shocked to hear his response. 2 looked to 7 with a worried expression. "You aren't seriously considering going out there on your own, are you?" he asked with concern.

"I am," she replied. She kept it to herself that 3 and 4 would be tagging along. If she were to get caught, the last thing she wanted was to drag them both down with her. "And don't try to stop me. I don't want to have to do anything drastic."

"We won't stop you," 2 replied.

5 looked surprised. "We won't?" he asked. "But she can't go out there! What if that thing is out there waiting for her?" 2 rested a hand on his shoulder and tried to calm him down. "2, it'll kill her for sure!"

"If she wants to leave, then it's not our place to keep her here," 2 said calmly. 5 stopped his protesting and nodded, however reluctant that nod was. 2 turned back to 7 and rested a hand on her arm. "As for you, I'll be wishing you the best and I hope you practice good judgment and stay safe."

"Thank you," 7 replied. That sentiment had really meant a lot to her in that moment. She had been genuinely surprised by his response and was more than a little thankful of how understanding he was. "Are you still planning on coming with me, or did you change your mind?" she asked 6. He seemed a little surprised that the invitation was still open after he'd blown her attempted secrecy out the door, but nonetheless he nodded. "Then meet me tonight by the crack in the wall. We leave at sundown."

"We'll go back?" 6 asked.

"We'll go back," she promised. She hoped she could uphold that promise, no matter how long it took to do so.

* * *

7 was the first one at the predetermined meeting spot. She sat on a chunk of rubble that had broken away from the wall and watched the world outside through the crack. It wasn't a very large crack by human standards, but to someone of a stitchpunk's size, it appeared to be quite massive. It was large enough that they could all squeeze through. The hole was too small for the Cat Beast to fit through and since it had yet to determine where they were even hiding, 1 never bothered to have it stopped up in any way. He saw it as a perfect and discreet way to get in and out if he ever needed to send a patrol, but for the most part it had gone unused as an exit once they'd gotten into the church. It was not the only way in or out by far, but it was certainly the easiest and the stealthiest.

The sun had already begun to set and her mind was fraught with worry. What if the others had changed their minds? What if earlier was a fluke and 6 couldn't get away from 1's watch? That was a thought that never even occurred to her before. She was beginning to wonder if she should go find him to see if that was the case and devise a strategy that would best get him away when she heard the pitter patter of tiny feet on the floor and received a simultaneous glomp from both 3 and 4.

"You both made it!" 7 said with a smile. They returned the smile and stood at attention. "We're just waiting for 6 now." They both started chattering to themselves and looked around for him. 4 stood on the concrete piece so he could get a better view of the church floor.

Before long, 6 joined them at the wall as well. He was holding a scrap of paper that could only be his most recent doodle. "We're going?" he asked.

"Everyone's here," 7 nodded. "We're going."

"No you're not." The group froze and turned to find themselves staring down 8. 1 stood next to him, his expression angry and frightening.

3 and 4 both cowered behind 7 and 6 looked like he was about to go into shock. 7's mind raced to try and figure out how they'd been caught. She didn't think 6 would have told 1 or even said anything incriminating in his presence. He was crazy, not stupid. She didn't think 2 would have gone behind her back and told him either. Did 5 betray them?

"How did you know?" she asked. "Did 5 tell you?"

"5 knew about this?!" 1 said furiously. 7 realized that she made a mistake in telling him that and hoped that 5's punishment for keeping this from him when he knew about it wasn't too severe. At the very least she hoped that 2 would be around to protect him if he did decide to punish him. "No one told me. No one had to tell me. 8 and I overheard you talking about it ourselves!" She wondered when he could have overheard her and wondered if it was when she was speaking to the twins.

"You can't keep us here forever, 1!" 7 said with anger burning in her tone. "We'll all leave sooner or later!"

"That'll be the day," 1 laughed. "8, take her into custody for spreading dissent and attempting a mutiny and have 2 come down here to seal off this hole at once."

"With pleasure," 8 replied sadistically. He stepped forward towards 7 with a menacing smile.

"Don't you touch me," she said angrily, all the while trying to shield the twins from him.

When he reached out and grabbed her, she startled him by rushing forward instead of trying to pull away like how he'd thought she'd react and punched him in the face with her free arm. Slightly dazed by the blow, he was definitely not expecting her to leap up on top of him and shove him to the floor, smashing his face down into the ground. He hadn't expected her to know how to, let alone be able to, fight back against him and had been caught completely by surprise. He wasn't the only one. 1 seemed a bit startled at how she'd not only fought back but also that she'd apparently won the encounter.

"Run!" she shouted to the others before leaping away.

The twins both scrambled for the crevice, 4 pausing to let 3 through first so they didn't both get stuck, and 7 quickly followed after them. Once they'd already begun fleeing into the wasteland, it occurred to 7 that 6 wasn't with them. She paused just a moment to turn around and see if he was following, only to see him struggling to get away from 8, who had recovered miraculously fast and grabbed him. He wasn't the skilled fighter that 7 was and couldn't free himself from 8's grasp. He hadn't spent all the time she had fighting inanimate objects to prepare herself for their escape and didn't know what to do but struggle.

3 and 4 paused as well and looked at her in distress. "We can't risk going back. We'll have to leave him," she said reluctantly. She felt like crap for abandoning her friend and only hoped that he understood why they had done it. She hoped that someday she could go back and retrieve him as well, but for now she had to get herself and the twins out of here before 8 chased off after them. For such a big guy he was also surprisingly fast as well as stealthy.

They didn't stop running until they were sure they weren't being followed. The three of them hid themselves behind the flattened tire of a broken down car and waited, just in case. None of them knew what to expect. Would the Cat Beast find them? Was 8 following them after all, or did 1 declare them lost and call his dog off? The twins were both scared and 7 did her best to be brave for them, but as much as she didn't want to admit it, she was scared too. They had both plastered themselves to either of her sides, like children hoping that their mother would protect them.

Now what? She hadn't thought this through completely. She'd been so preoccupied with getting the hell out of Dodge that she didn't stop to think that she knew nothing of the surrounding areas and didn't know where to go to seek shelter. There was only so much she could see from the grungy window, and she'd mostly sought out the metal demon when she was sitting there. She thought of 5 and his telescope, forever scoping out the wastes in search of something useful or perhaps hoping for just a glimpse of the Beast so they knew where it was and wished that she'd taken the time to look out with him once in a while, at least to get a feel for her environment. He wouldn't have had a problem with that. He and 2 were always happy to share their inventions with her and anyone else that was curious about them.

"Come on," 7 said as she took her arms off the two and stood up. "We have some walking to do if we're ever going to survive out here."

* * *

The feral Cat Beast, the only thing alive in this post-apocalyptic wasteland besides them that they knew of, and by far the biggest threat to their survival. The stitchpunks didn't know if they were biologically immortal or if they would die after a certain frame of time passed as none of them had died of old age yet, but their self-preservation instinct told them that they could indeed die. They didn't know how or how much damage to their bodies they could sustain before their lives ended, but they were certain that the Beast did. None of them knew why it stalked them so relentlessly like it did. It didn't appear to be completely sentient, at least not by their standards, and they had no idea what it wanted to do with them once it caught them. It hadn't successfully caught any of them yet and they were determined not to let that happen ever.

There had been others like the Cat Beast before it, but many of them had since stopped functioning or accidentally offed themselves in a spectacular fashion. The Cat Beast was the only one that still thrived. 1 was convinced that eventually it would cease to function as well someday and their biggest threat would die off on its own, but 7 was not so certain he was correct. She felt that this machine was built to last a long time and that even if it did shut down eventually it would have outlived all of them anyway (if they weren't biologically immortal, at the very least). The Beast was not like the other machines they had seen. The other machines didn't seem to notice they were there at the best of times and didn't seem to be determined to stalk them to the ends of the Earth and kill them at the worst, but the Beast...it was different. It was almost as though it were programmed for the soul purpose of hunting each and every one of them down for some reason. She could only suspect that something out there, whether it be another machine or a long dead human, wanted them for some purpose, and that terrified her. If it was another machine, there was even the possibility that it too was still alive and could come and find them at some point in time.

Unlike 1 however, she wasn't content to try and hide from the Beast for all her life. She knew the only way to get rid of it once and for all and free them from a life filled with fear was to fight back and kill it themselves before it found and killed them first. Only then, when she was finally convinced that herself, the twins, and all her friends (and 1 and 8, possibly) were truly safe from the Beast, could she rest easily and start to enjoy living. Until then she had to do her best to keep the twins and herself safe.

So far they'd seen neither hide nor bone of the Cat Beast, and 7 hoped that it would stay that way, at least until after they'd settled in someplace safe and were ready to combat it. Whenever they had to leave cover, she ran out into the open first before summoning the twins to follow once she was sure the coast was clear. The bitter, night wind was cold, though it didn't affect any of them in the slightest. They couldn't freeze to death, though it might mess up their eyesight a little bit if their eyes started to fog or frost up like a windshield.

3 and 4 were pretty fast and didn't have to struggle to keep up with 7, even in the event that they stopped to examine a dead cricket out of curiosity or saw a newspaper blowing in the wind that they wanted to investigate. Many a times 7 had to tell them to leave it and move on whenever they became interested in a discarded magazine or fascinated by something new they hadn't seen before. She once again sighed when the two of them became fascinated with a cracked, plastic lunchbox. 2 would be so proud of them if he could be here now to see them scrounging around the garbage like a couple of pack rats.

"3, 4, just leave it," she said, feeling like she was scolding a couple of curious pets.

The twins reluctantly began to leave it when all three of them snapped their heads in another direction at the sound of a roar. They saw the Cat Beast roaming just a few feet away from them, but it didn't appear to have seen them yet. 7 pulled them both to the ground behind the lunchbox so they'd be out of sight and hoped the Beast didn't come this way.

The machine scrounged about, pushing over and digging through the garbage like 3 and 4 had just been doing a moment ago, although unlike them it actually appeared to be looking for something in particular. 7 realized that if they stayed where they were they'd get caught for sure and looked around for a clean escape. She spotted some nearby dead, woody plants, rife with thorns and so tightly clustered together that the Cat Beast would have a good struggle on its hands if it wanted to follow.

She gently coerced the twins into following her and the trio snuck out from behind the lunchbox while the Beast was preoccupied with pawing at a discarded fast food cup. Keeping her eyes on the machine at all times, she ushered 3 and 4 towards the bramble patch, making sure they were both inside and safe before following. The Beast looked up when it heard the rustling of bramble branches, but evidently thought it was hearing things and returned to digging through the garbage.

The bramble patch wasn't that large, but compared to them it might as well have been a football stadium. 7 led them through, hoping to find the other side, and was more than a little annoyed at the thorns that kept pulling and poking at her face. She looked to the twins to see if they had the same problem she did and realized that their bodies seemed to be reflecting any damage that could potentially be dealt to them. Their material must have been made to withstand this then.

3 and 4 seemed to realize the trouble she was having with getting through the branches and they looked around, hoping to find something to help protect her face. 3 took off in one direction, and wherever one twin went the other was sure to immediately follow. They examined the skeleton of a small animal, a crow, that was left tangled in the brambles. They found the sight just as curious as the last one and climbed all around it, cataloging every bit of it that they could see for future reference. How it died was unknown. Was it long dead or did it die during the War? Did it die after getting caught in the brambles or was it sick or injured and crawled amongst the plant to try to seek shelter, only to pass there? They'd likely never know. The twins seemed fascinated with the bird's skull and 3 picked it up, tapping on it to test how sturdy it was. They both returned to 7 and presented it to her proudly.

At first 7 didn't know what to make of the gift and wondered why they were giving her a crow skull, but then she suddenly realized what they were getting at and accepted it. She pulled it down over her face and realized she could see perfectly through the broken eye sockets. It was just thick and hard enough to shield her head and face from the brambles, as long as she could find a way to keep it in place. She smiled at the twins, who were obviously awaiting either praise or dismissal of their gift.

"Thanks you two," she said before carrying on. 3 and 4 followed, neither of them bothered at all by the rest of the march through the brambles.

* * *

The sun was beginning to rise again, though most of the light that it brought was obscured by the dust and smog polluting the atmosphere. The trio didn't need to sleep so they weren't tired at all from their long journey, but they were wary from fear due to their exposure and lack of a safe haven out here. 7 was alert and standing guard from the top of a sign post she had managed to climb up to with the help of a dead tree that was collapsing over it. She saw a building in the distance, the words on the placard out front faded and nearly illegible. Of all the words on the placard, the only one she could make out was "library". That was it. That was where they were to go. She was sure this library would be a perfect place for them to hide out and wait.

She was about to start climbing down again when she heard the last thing she wanted to right now, the snarl of the Cat Beast as it pounced on the twins. It had snuck up on them while she was entranced by the view of the library before them. She watched on in horror as it pinned 3 under one paw and swiped at 4 as he attempted to flee from its grasp. 7 would never make it down there in time if she went back the same way she came.

If anything happened to those twins, 7 didn't want to carry on anymore. She also didn't want to prove 1 correct. They could survive out here, she knew they could, but she had to do something now if she wanted to save them both. Without thinking of the potential consequences of leaping off a post this high, 7 pushed the crow skull back down over her face, called the Cat Beast, and jumped down onto its head, grabbing at the empty eye socket to get a good grip on it when it thrashed and bucked about.

This was just the time that the twins needed to get away. 4 bolted and hid under a pile of newspapers, as he always had back at the church, and waited for his other half to join him. The Beast violently thrashed its head and slammed 7 to the ground. To both 4 and 7's horror, the Beast saw that 3 was still out in the open and was a lot more defenseless than 7 was and bolted forwards.

"3!" 7 screamed in alarm when the Beast snatched 3 up in its jaws. She hadn't a second to lose and charged it, leaping at its face once more. The machine tried to snap at her with its jaws and dropped 3 to the ground in the process. 7 grabbed 3 by the hand and tried to make a run for it.

7 realized that 4 had successfully hidden from the Cat Beast and couldn't reveal his location to it. She saw a small drainage pipe, just big enough for the pair of them to fit through, and dragged 3 along towards it, stuffing the smaller stitchpunk in first before diving in after. They both scurried to climb in further to avoid the sharp claws that reached into the pipe after them, stopping only when muck and dead leaves clogged it up and prevented them from going back any further. 7 could only imagine what poor 4 was thinking, seeing them both trapped by the Beast while he was powerless to help them. She hoped he didn't do something stupid, like attempt to draw the Beast off so they could get away.

Draw the Beast off so they could get away...

"3," 7 said to get her attention. She held 3 tight and tried to keep her away from the prying arm of the Beast. "It's going to stop eventually and wait for us to come out on our own. Here's what I'm going to do..." 3 looked terrified when she realized what 7 was planning. "I'm going to run and it's going to chase after me. Once we're out of sight, I want you to go and get 4 and both of you go wait for me in the building." 3 shook her head. She didn't want 7 to go. They both turned their heads when the Beast stopped clawing up the drain and watched it staring down the dark tunnel with its single, red eye before it moved away and began to prowl and pace around just outside. "Now that it knows we're here, it's never going to leave, 3," 7 said sadly. "I'd rather it get me than either of you."

If a ragdoll could cry, 3 would be sobbing right now. Instead, she gave 7 what she felt could potentially be her last hug goodbye and sat back against the detritus, watching 7 silently creeping forward from the drain. If she made a sound, the Cat Beast would know she was coming out and would grab her before she had a chance to catch it by surprise and run.

Very carefully she snuck to the edge of the drain and peeked out. The Beast was walking in a circle in front of the drain, where it would likely be content to pace for the rest of its life, waiting ominously for 7 and 3. It didn't turn its head to look at her until her feet hit the ground. Seeing her outside the drain and making a run for it, the Beast roared at her and made chase.

* * *

Two days. It had been two days since 7 had led the Cat Beast off into the wastes in order to save 3 and 4. The twins holed up in the lobby of the library but didn't dare venture past without 7. They wanted to all go in together with her. They were certain she was still alive and out there somewhere and that the Beast hadn't possibly gotten ahold of her. She was far too fast and clever for it to have gotten ahold of her. Still, they couldn't help but worry. If she was still alive, what about that meant that she'd be able to get back to them? What if the Beast had her trapped in another storm drain? What if she was lost? They both huddled close together and watched the slightly cracked open door intently for hours.

When they were finally about to give up hope, they heard a soft voice call out, "3? 4? Are you two in here?"

7 emerged from the wasteland, no worse for the wear. She was carrying some form of bladed weapon that she'd fashioned from whatever junk she could find in her desperation and had used it to fend off the Cat Beast. It had taken her so long to get back because she wanted to make absolutely sure the Beast wasn't following her before she returned, so as not to put 3 and 4 in danger again. The twins shot up from their space on the floor and leapt all over her, excited to see her back and okay. 3 grabbed her arm and held it out so they could examine the blade she'd brought back with her and they both cataloged it, wary of the sharp edges and being careful not to let it touch their delicate stitching. Once they were satisfied, they both stepped back and smiled.

"Are you two officially ready to go in?" 7 asked with a smile. The pair followed after her as they set foot into the library proper.

7 almost laughed at their expressions when they saw all the many books, newspapers, and magazines that were lying around. 3 became excited when she found a treasury of one of the newspaper comic strips that the two of them had been fond of on a low shelf while 4 was already busy flipping through the pages of a book about dinosaurs that had clearly come from the children's section. Clearly she had made the right choice in picking a location.

7 watched them both as they poured over everything they could get their hands on and even helped them prop up a particularly large and heavy book that they had found. She had hoped when she saw all the books and newspapers that they might be able to do some research for her to hopefully tell them more about this Cat Beast and where it came from, how to defeat it, and anything else that might come in handy, but for now she was content to let them have their freedom to explore. They had all the time in the world here to do as they pleased.

She just wished she could share it with the others.


End file.
